General election 2019: Housing should be top ‘priority’
Boris Johnson’s call for a snap general election on December 12 to try to settle the issue of Brexit took very few people by surprise. But many buy-to-let landlords and letting agents will be hoping that the poll will prove positive for the private rented sector, as it presents the main political parties with an opportunity to address voters’ concerns about housing, and not just focus on attempts to exit the EU.
Research shows that many landlords have been affected by the introduction of tougher tax treatments and tighter bank lending criteria, with many buy-to-let landlords actively selling and reducing their property holdings as a consequence.
The latest study by the Residential Landlords Association (RLA) shows that there has been a further increase in the number of landlords exiting the buy-to-let market in recent months, at a time when demand for private rented property is increasing.
According to the research, over the next 12 months 31% of landlords plan to sell at least one property with just 13% saying they plan to buy at least one.
A shortage of private rented housing together with strong demand from tenants has led to rising rents across most parts of Great Britain, and this is something that politicians must address.
Some parties will propose rent controls, but there is plenty of evidence to show that this could risk hurting tenants as well as landlords by further damping investment in the PRS and in some cases pushing up rents.
With successive governments failing to build enough housing – particularly social housing – the UK is in the grip of a worsening crisis, with homelessness on the rise.
So ahead of the general election, all political parties must make housing a primary political issue and set out clear strategies on how they would tackle the shortage of residential properties across the UK, including in the PRS.
Nick Leeming, chairman at Jackson-Stops, said: “All markets abhor uncertainty and the housing market is no exception. The priority now must be for politicians to provide reassurance by forming a Government, once elected, as quickly as possible.
“Regardless of how the government is formed, it is clear that each of the main political parties’ manifestos need to have housing as a priority and so a clear strategy must be put in place.”
Property expert urges BTL landlords to ride out recession
With Britain edging closer to its first recession since the financial crisis, a leading property auctioneer is urging property investors, including buy-to-let landlords, to hold their nerve against the spectre of an economic downturn.
The country’s dominant service sector, which accounts for about 80% of the economy, unexpectedly plunged into contraction last month, in a sign of the increasing stress facing the economy as Brexit looms.
According to IHS Markit and the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (Cips), activity in the sector fell as companies reported a fall in sales, job losses, cancelled and postponed projects and weak investment levels.
There has been a recent rise in properties going into receivership, banks unwilling to lend for construction projects and a decline in tenants looking to rent business or residential properties, according to Mark Bailey, managing director of Landwood Group, who says that a rise in auction sales is also evident, largely down to an increase in repossessions.
He said: “Worryingly, at Landwood we are also receiving more instructions over the past few months than we have done for a year or more – instructions for properties that have sadly gone into receivership.
“It is harder for property owners to let business space and for domestic landlords to find tenants – there’s no doubt that a squeeze is on.
“With each failed building project, banks become more nervous to lend, builders stop building… and we fall headlong into a dreaded recession. Once we do, it’s anyone’s guess how deep it is or how long it lasts.
“The blame for all of this cannot be put at the door of Brexit… well, not entirely. There is no arguing with the fact that this is a period of change – domestically and globally. People err to the negative whenever there is change on the horizon – until events transpire and the scales balance out. The big issue is uncertainty and property is key to all of this. Uncertainty causes negativity, while a solid market has the opposite effect.”
So, if the pointers are all correct and a recession is upon us, what is the advice?
“Sit tight,” said Bailey. “Whether you are a commercial property owner or a domestic landlord, try your best to ride it out, perhaps for six months, before making any business decisions. Look at your borrowings and don’t over-stretch yourself at this time.
“There are always people who benefit from downturns in the market and they tend to be cash buyers. So if you have cash to invest long-term, a ripe time to buy may be about to begin.
“For the rest of us, it’s time to batten down the hatches and ride out the storm – see you on the other side.”
Will the property market slow even further ahead of Brexit?
- With 29 days until Brexit deadline, October could be a crunch month for housing
- A deal with the EU could spark a flurry of sales as market breathes a sigh of relief
But some experts are warning of a 10 per cent drop if things go the other way
The UK housing market has been in the brace position since the EU referendum three years ago.
It has been a bumpy ride for the most part. Prices have ground to a halt in some parts of the country, while they have soared ahead in others.
A report by Nationwide yesterday showed overall prices were up just 0.2 per cent on last year.
It is the tenth month in a row that annual house prices have grown by less than 1 per cent. But the crash-landing many fear has yet to come.
Is the mood turning in the hotspots?
In 1799 William Wordsworth fell in love with a small cottage in Grasmere while on a walking tour of the Lake District and it was there he wrote his ode Home At Grasmere.
More than 200 years on and his eye for the property market has proven to be sound. South Lakeland, which includes the village of Grasmere, saw house prices soar by 8.1 per cent in the year to July, despite plummeting stocks elsewhere.
The region is one of those proving resilient while others flap in the face of Brexit turbulence. But the mood may be about to turn.
Local estate agents Armitstead Barnett recently ran an advertising campaign under the slogan ‘summer is still here but winter is near’.
It might not be Wordsworth but the message is stark. Even agents in growth areas are beginning to worry.
Wait-and-see rules for cautious Brits…
Three million Britons say they have put off buying a home because of Brexit, according to figures published by Royal London this week.
Andrew Holmes, head of residential sales at Armitstead Barnett, says: ‘We’ve seen a flattening of the market.
New instructions have been slower, sales have been slower and people are just being a little more cautious. They don’t want to overexpose themselves to Brexit. October is supposed to be a tipping point.’
Some agents say it is only in the past few weeks that they have started to feel the pinch. Doncaster has seen a 3.6 per cent growth in house prices, but Mark Hunter, partner at Grice & Hunter, says business in the town has ‘ground to a halt’.
He points to the bullish attitude of Boris Johnson in No 10, which is ‘starting to concentrate people’s minds’.
As October 31 draws closer and a possible end to the uncertainty — deal or no deal — is in sight, it seems to make sense for people to hold out for that bit longer.
But Mr Hunter warns that approach is fraught with danger. ‘Should we crash out [of the EU without a deal], there could be serious implications,’ he says. ‘It’s hard to say how far prices would fall but there’s no point in talking it up.’
…But families still need homes
Not everyone believes October will be make-or-break. Parts of the market have proven immune to Westminster wranglings and many hope that will continue.
Mid-market moves for families facing a change in circumstance remain strong. If you need to move closer to a school, or make room for a new arrival, Brexit is largely irrelevant. There are those who can’t afford to ‘wait and see’ and need to get on with their lives.
Indeed, the Nationwide report highlighted the fact that while the number of homes changing hands has gone down, buyer demand remains relatively stable.
Agents Jackson-Stops operates in the mid-to-upper end of the market in Norfolk. Its average property price is £650,000 and it tends to deal in period properties, farm or country houses.
Manager Jonathan Weeks admits there are fewer properties on the market and a limited pool of buyers but that those who are active are serious about getting a deal.
‘The viewings have dropped but the ratio of viewings to offers is very good,’ he says. ‘It’s a classic estate agents’ phrase, but people getting divorced keep us in business.
‘Downsizers looking to retire in the countryside aren’t so motivated. The so-called ‘romantic side’ of the business has slowed. They want to move but there is no time pressure, so why not wait until Brexit blows over?
‘But people who are moving out of necessity will continue to do so, and they are getting a fair price.’
In Nottingham, house prices have risen steadily at 2.6 per cent. Chartered surveyor David Hammond says turnover in the lower end of the market is healthy. ‘People will continue to move out of rented accommodation or mum and dad’s house,’ he says.
Pockets that buck the trend
Pockets of the country appear totally unshaken by Brexit.
Yorkshire and The Humber recorded the highest annual price growth at 3.2 per cent to July this year. Close behind is the North-West, where prices increased by 2.3 per cent.
Malvern Hills in Worcestershire recorded a house price growth of 8.3 per cent.
It has been spurred on by its affordability, proximity to Worcester and Birmingham and opportunities for ‘a traditional English lifestyle’. The mood there is one of unbridled optimism.
‘Malvern is a hotspot at the moment,’ says Colin Townsend, chartered surveyor at John Goodwin.
‘We’ve been expecting a slowdown for a long time, but we’re doing so many viewings across all sectors of the market. There isn’t any evidence that people don’t want to make a decision this year.’
Mr Townsend believes Malvern has benefited from its position in the market. With an average house price of £273,698, it is not as expensive as the nearby Cotswolds or Cheltenham.
That has made it fertile ground for a range of clients, from local entrepreneurs, first-time buyers and downsizers to commuters.
But it is Devon that has seen the most startling growth. North Devon saw house prices soar by 14.8 per cent, the biggest in England.
Mike Adey, residential officer at Greenslade Taylor Hunt, says the region has profited from people seeking a new lifestyle away from the big cities. Renovations are particularly popular, he adds.
‘While I expect it to be quieter during the Brexit period, people need to get on with their lives,’ he says. ‘We live in a lovely part of the world and, hopefully, people continue to want to live here.’
The largest annual price growth by country was recorded in Wales, up by 4.2 per cent over the year to July.
Don’t forget the stamp duty
London has fared particularly poorly since the referendum. House prices have dropped by 1.4 per cent in the past year.
This is largely because prices have had farther to fall in the capital after years of rapid growth before the 2007-08 financial crisis.
Its boroughs account for five of the ten worst performing regions. Newham has seen house prices fall by as much as 9.6 per cent.
Camden is an outlier, recording a growth of 9.5 per cent. But it still costs an average of £477,813 to buy a house in London — more than twice the UK average of £232,710.
John King, chairman of Andrew Scott Robertson, which operates around Wimbledon and Merton in South-West London, says the market has dropped by about 35‑40 per cent in terms of sales.
He accepts Brexit has played its part but says stamp duty has also been a factor. New rules in 2014 pushed up the cost of moving for anyone buying a house worth more than £937,500.
But even those purchasing properties worth £500,000, not far off the average property price in London, face a £15,000 tax bill.
Receipts from stamp duty fell last year for the first time in a decade, according to figures released yesterday by HMRC.
Revenue from the duty fell by 7 per cent to £11.9 billion up to April 2019 because of the UK’s slowing housing market.
Mr King’s greatest fear, however, is not the outcome of the Brexit negotiations but that of an imminent General Election.
Labour has called for a ‘progressive property tax’, which would see owners charged more if they invested more into their home.
It is also looking at slashing the inheritance tax threshold.
‘If we see a Labour victory, that could frighten people and they will be heading for Europe,’ warns Mr King.
‘It’s undermining the confidence in the market, particularly for families who have potential inheritance decisions to make.
‘That is probably the biggest factor in the market at the moment. Clients are more worried about a Labour government carrying out those policies. It is frightening them.’
Prepare for turbulence!
One agent in Chesterfield warns in the latest Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors survey that continued political instability will cause house prices to fall by 10 per cent. The report is full of surveyors echoing those concerns.
Mr Hunter says we are ‘moving into a period which, in terms of the economy and property markets, could be one of the most influential in living memory’. Others put it bluntly: ‘Politics, Brexit,’ says one.
But it is impossible to find a consensus. Mr King says that while he has seen prices drop by 5 per cent, he doubts they will fall much further.
‘It will just bump along,’ he says. Mr Hammond is less blasé. ‘We are not prepared for a No Deal,’ he says. ‘The only thing we are prepared for is chaos.’
So for now, the general message appears to be: fasten your seatbelts and prepare for turbulence.
London Is ‘No Longer an English City’
Mass immigration has turned London into a city that is ‘no longer English’, John Cleese claims.
The comic was asked what he thought about British culture and the recent London riots during an interview on 7.30, a television show in Australia, where he is currently on a stand-up tour. He replied: ‘I’m not sure what’s going on in Britain. Or, let me say this – I don’t know what’s going on in London, because London is no longer an English city.
‘That’s how we got the Olympics.
‘They said we were the most cosmopolitan city on Earth. But it doesn’t feel English. ‘I had a Californian friend come over two months ago, walk down the King’s Road and say, “Where are all the English people?”
‘I mean, I love having different cultures around. But when the parent culture kind of dissipates, you’re left thinking, “Well, what’s going on?”‘
The comedian was praised by UKIP leader Nigel Farage for articulating ‘what an increasing number of people in London are thinking’. He added: ‘For him to make these remarks shows a tremendous strength of feeling on this matter. ‘Of course other cultures are welcome, but Mr Cleese is right to point out that it should not be at the expense of the parent culture.’
Of the eight million people who currently live in Greater London, 2.7 million residents were born outside the UK, and more than 300 languages are spoken in the city.
While Mr Cleese has received a lot of criticism for his comment, which was to be expected given the culture of ‘treading on Eggshells’ that we live in, he was absolutely right. The influx of so many different cultures in sch a short time has been breathtaking, to say the least, however, this has not been without cost.
Successive governments have allowed London property to be used a car park for overseas investment, which has had the effect of pricing out people who were born and bred in London. Whilst people draw comparisons with New York, London has had a population and a culture that goes back for centuries, New York was founded in a different way to London. It is not that one is better than the other, but we must understand that the entire identity of London has changed in little more than a generation.
More interestingly, was the way that this was seized up by a race activist on GNB, who instantly made the comment about race and branded John Cleese a racist. If you watch the video, we have the Race activist Dr. Shola Mos-Shogbamimu, a Russian immigrant who was actually agreeing with John Cleese, Konstantin Kisin, and Monty Panesar.
Look out for the way the Russian actually makes an example using the Scottish that could not be clearer, watch how the presenter responds with “wait a minute, let me get my head around that” because he did not like the argument and the race activist is getting agitated when the Russian actually discredits her usual racial rhetoric,
The EU an empire in decay
Most Europeans believe that the European Union will collapse within 20 years, raising the prospect of new conflicts and wars on the continent. This is the conclusion of the Berlin-based think-tank, the European Council on Foreign Relations, having carried out polls in 14 EU member states. Younger voters, aged 18 to 34, were especially worried about the prospect of war between current EU countries.
The belief that the EU will disintegrate within two decades is an entirely rational one. The union bears many of the hallmarks of an empire in decay: it has over-extended its borders; it is attracting more outsiders than it desires or can accommodate; it has too many leaders; it has emerging nativist movements; and its poor are growing ever-more angry and resentful towards the political establishment.
However, the second belief – that war between former nations will ensue – is unfounded. There is no appetite among EU member states for another European conflict, and no signs of animosity between nation states on the continent, as there clearly were prior to 1914 and 1939. The only hostility evident today is directed against the EU and Germany’s leadership itself.
The First World War was on the cards ever since 1871, with the unification of Germany, a country that was soon going to dominate the continent as France continued its long decline.
Ever since the Napoleonic wars, Britain had made it policy that no single nation should ever again dominate Europe, and by the 1900s Britain and Germany were in an open naval arms race. There was also by then a general desire for war among the populaces, as personified by the cult of Nietzsche and, as Robert Wohl wrote in The Generation of 1914 (1980), the belief that European culture was decadent and needed ‘purification’.
The signs were even more obvious in the 1930s, with Nazi Germany’s re-occupation of the Ruhr, the re-militarisation of the Rhineland, and then the invasion of Czechoslovakia and Poland. By 1936, Orwell observed, it was clear to most that a forthcoming war was inevitable.
There are no comparable signs today. If anything, the case is the opposite. The defining aspect of Europe’s nationalist and populist movements is not that they represent growing animosity between nations, but rather that they embody a pan-European alliance among like-minded nationalists. Last Saturday, Matteo Salvini, the Italian populist deputy prime minister, held a rally in Milan attended by leading members of 10 different parties across the continent. One by one they took to the stage to denounce immigration and to denounce Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, and the French president Emmanuel Macron as ‘destroyers of Europe’.
The real prospect of war on the continent comes not with the disintegration of the EU, but with its continued existence. There may not be any tangible appetite among other EU members for seceding from the Union, but there is clearly something wrong with the model. If it is to survive it will have to become more federated or decentralised or two-tier, otherwise the likes of Salvini or Hungary’s Viktor Orbán will flourish and multiply. But the EU’s ideological leaders are so wedded to ever-closer union that it’s hard to see this happening.
The EU made it as difficult as possible for the UK to leave, with the view of setting an example to other members. Any future member that wants to leave, when the decadent and decrepit Union has become more reactionary, centralised and oppressive, and its members even more discontent, may ultimately have to take stronger measures. Remember Yugoslavia.
Most Europeans believe the EU could fall apart within the next two decades, according to a new study.
Research published this week showed that levels of support for membership of the European Union are high – but so is pessimism about the future of the bloc. The survey, conducted by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) and YouGov, had more than 60,000 respondents across 14 EU member states.
It found that in every member state except Spain, the majority of voters believe the EU will fall apart within the next 10 to 20 years.
In France, 58% of respondents said it was realistic that the bloc would collapse within two decades, with 57% of Italian and Polish voters agreeing to that. Even in Spain, 40% of respondents said it was a realistic possibility that the EU could fall apart. The data showed that most Europeans saw the collapse of the single market as the biggest loss should the EU break down, followed by free travel across borders and the freedom to live and work in other countries.
A European war?
Significant proportions of people surveyed also said a war between EU countries was a realistic possibility over the next decade. Austrians were most likely to believe a European war was possible, with 38% saying it could happen within 10 years, followed by 35% of French respondents and 31% of Romanians. The belief was also particularly strong among younger people. In Austria and Romania, half of those aged between 18 and 24 believed a war between EU members was possible, while 46% of the youngest respondents in France agreed.
According to the report, there was a greater tendency to hold this belief among supporters of far-right parties, particularly Rassemblement National in France, the Freedom Party of Austria, the Party for Freedom in the Netherlands, Jobbik in Hungary, and Golden Dawn in Greece. However, many who supported mainstream parties also thought a European war was possible within 10 years, the study found.
Economic split
Across all the countries included in the survey, a minority of voters said they believed young people had more economic opportunities than older generations.
There was also a widespread insecurity among respondents that they were doing less well financially than people living in other EU nations. In Greece, more than 70% of people felt they had fewer economic opportunities than people in other European countries, while just over half of respondents in Romania, Spain and Italy believed they had an economic disadvantage.
Respondents in Denmark and Sweden were the least likely to hold the same views.
Why we should leave the EU
On the 5th June, 1975, the British public voted in a referendum regarding membership to the EEC, The European Economic Community, which was founded on the 25th March 1957 by Benelux, France, West Germany and Italy and sold to the British nation as a free trade agreement between member states. The sinister agenda of the EEC was intentionally kept secret from the British public, by Prime Minister Edward Heath and Margaret Thatcher, as they were well aware, even then that the masses would not accept a policy of an “ever closer political union in Europe” which was the agenda from day one!
On the 13th March, 1979, the ERM, European Exchange Rate Mechanism was founded, with the intention of reducing exchange rate volatility in Europe and bringing the countries closer to economic union. The UK did not join at that point, as that was just after the ‘Winter of discontent’ and our economy was in pieces. We did however join the ERM in October 1990, but this was to prove catastrophic for the UK, it led to us being plunged in to a recession that lasted for 5 quarters, which was then followed by months without any growth, until one day, on the 16th September 1992, known as ‘Black Wednesday’ our currency was under attack by speculators, the Chancellor Norman Lamont doubled interest rates and was then left with no alternative but to leave the ERM.
That should have been a lesson in Geo-Economics, but it was not. Spurred on by the staggering cost of re-unification, Germany was determined to exploit the economies of other European nations, to save itself from bankruptcy. In the first instance, Germany continued to champion the ERM, which as this point was directly leading to the introduction of the Euro.
The first part of Germany’s plan was to champion the accession of Turkey as a European Union trading partner in 1995. This would allow Turkey to trade freely with Europe, without joining, this would give Germany a source of cheap goods and manufacturing, but also, without being restricted by EU bureaucracy, Turkey had a trading advantage over the European states. This was to become a major factor in the decline of many industries in southern Europe.
The Euro was introduced as an electronic currency on the 1st January 1999, with physical currency coming in to circulation on the 1st January 2002. This was good for Europe wasn’t it?
NO IT WAS NOT!
Germany was still struggling with the cost of reunification and therefore, on entry in the Euro, Germany pulled one of the greatest economic acts of deception on history, it entered the Euro, significantly undervalued, in terms of trading within the EU, this was HUGE. This meant, that the German people had a sense of poverty and needed financial prudence, whilst other nations that joined at a higher rate, suddenly had a false sense of wealth, that encouraged them to spend more. Also, due to the fact that Germany had entered much lower than it should, German goods appeared cheaper and therefore they outsold many other European goods. The other countries needed assistance to keep purchasing, but Germany was happy to lend to them and slowly, enslave them to debt.
Germany pulled one of the greatest economic acts of deception on history
Fast forward 2 decades and the southern European nations have lost most of their textile and light industries to Europe, they are in serious debt to Germany, they have lost control of issues that matter most, but worst of all, after 2 decades of left wing in-doctrine, many people now believe that we would be cast in to economic wilderness without the EU, this is simply not true.
European leaders who are not elected, not accountable to anyone and conduct their decision making in private, without even having minutes of their meetings recorded. People are under the illusion that just because there is a European Parliament, that the EU is a Democracy……..IT IS NOT! It is one of the most arrogant, authoritarian and corrupt institution in the Western world.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker says ‘stupid nationalists’ are ‘in love with their country’ & hate foreigners
20 REASONS WHY WE SHOULD LEAVE THE EUROPEAN UNION
1. A QUESTION OF SOVEREIGNTY
Leaving the EU would offer a chance to put the UK in charge of our own destiny and laws again — and restore our status as a sovereign nation.
According to the Commons Library, up to 60 per cent of regulations originate from the EU and the 28-member Commission in Brussels — none of whom were elected. Britain’s Commissioner, Lord (Jonathan) Hill, is a former lobbyist and Tory researcher who has never stood for elected office in his life. Nor had his predecessor, Cathy Ashton, a Labour appointee and Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament official.
2. STRIKING GLOBAL TRADE DEALS
We’d be free to negotiate our own trade deals — especially with the world’s emerging new economies.
Since we import £89 billion of goods more annually from other EU countries than we sell to them, the EU stands to lose more than Britain if it seeks to impose tariffs post-Brexit. We are a crucial export market for Germany, the EU’s most powerful country, which would be the post-Brexit deal-maker.
3. JOB MARKET THAT WOULD STILL EXIST
There are an estimated 3.3 million British jobs ‘linked’ to our membership of the EU. By the same measure, there are more than five million jobs on the Continent that are linked to trade with Britain. This includes one million jobs in Germany, 494,000 in France, 309,000 in Italy and 421,000 in Spain.
4. THE BILLIONS WE GIFT TO BRUSSELS
We pay far more into the EU budget than we get back — making a net contribution of around £8.5 billion last year (£23 million a day), which is more than we spend on the police service or border controls.
The NHS costs £8.5 billion a month and the Health Service would get an extra £5 billion a year as a result of Brexit.
Also, almost £1 billion of British cash goes to the EU for international aid.
5. HOW TO CONTROL OUR BORDERS
Currently there’s no upper limit on migration and no proper control of our borders. More than three million EU migrants live in the UK — double the number in 2004 when the EU expanded to include Eastern European countries, who have sent more than a million people here (despite the last Labour Government saying it would be only 13,000 a year.)
Net migration from EU countries to the UK, according to official figures, is 184,000 a year — enough to fill a city the size of Oxford. David Cameron has never hit his target to reduce net migration to the tens of thousands — and most agree he never will if we remain inside the EU.
6. THE RIDICULOUS MIGRATION SYSTEM?
Under EU law, we must let in any EU citizen regardless of their qualifications. The result? Businesses can’t get work permits for highly skilled or educated people from the Commonwealth, U.S., Australia and elsewhere outside the EU.
Using a new points-system, every applicant to live here would be treated on their merit rather than on their nationality. Equally, we’d be able to accept more genuine refugees.
7. MEDDLING BY FOREIGN JUDGES
Parliament is powerless, under EU treaties, to defend itself against the rulings of the European Court of Justice — which has interfered in everything from the price of beer to the right to deport terror suspects.
The UK has lost three-quarters of the cases it’s challenged since 1973. This makes a mockery of the idea that the UK’s Supreme Court is supreme.
8. FOREIGN RAPISTS AND KILLERS
Thanks to Brussels diktats, some of the EU’s most evil killers, rapists and drug-dealers have been allowed to remain here — because their right to free movement has been put ahead of keeping the British public safe.
A report by the Labour-led Commons Home Affairs Committee said the number of foreign criminals who had not been deported could fill a ‘small town’. British jails hold almost 10,000 foreign prisoners — including 1,000 Poles.
9. KEEPING OUT UNDESIRABLES
UK law stops anyone from outside the EU entering Britain if their presence is deemed ‘not conducive to the public good’, but Brussels says EU citizens can only be turned away if there is a ‘serious, credible and present threat’.
Thus the list of criminals able to come here include a Latvian who murdered his wife before moving to the UK, where he killed a 14-year-old girl. Over the past decade, UK officials have only been able to turn away 11,000 EU nationals.
10. PROTECTING US FROM TERRORISM
The EU’s Frontex border security agency has warned that jihadists are exploiting the Union’s open borders and the migrant crisis to sneak into the continent and plot atrocities. Two of the attackers responsible for last year’s outrages in Paris used exactly this approach.
The British head of Europol also said that as many as 5,000 Islamic State-trained jihadists are moving freely in Europe. And Sir Richard Dearlove, ex-head of MI6, said we could be safer outside of the EU as it would be easier to deport fanatics. Leaving the EU would still allow us to work with U.S. intelligence agencies — as the so-called gold standard ‘Five Eyes’ intelligence-sharing partnership consists of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the U.S. and the UK.
11. WILL TURKEY BE ALLOWED TO JOIN?
David Cameron has repeatedly refused to drop his government’s support for Turkey — which has 77 million citizens — joining the EU.
Yet he’s said that at the current rate it won’t join until the year 3000 — despite the European Commission announcing last week that Turkey’s membership application was being ‘accelerated’.
Before the referendum campaign, the PM said his wish was to ‘pave the road from Ankara [Turkey’s capital]’ to Brussels. Turkish citizens are already being given visa-free access to mainland Europe after a deal that saw the Turks getting £4.6 billion in aid.
Campaign group Migration Watch has warned an extra 100,000 Turks would flock to Britain every year if the predominantly Muslim country joined the EU.
12. THE CORRUPTION OF EU OFFICIALDOM
Last year — for the 21st year running! — the EU Court of Auditors admitted that Brussels expenditure was compromised by irregularities, with ‘a persistently high level of payment errors, which means too much money is still not spent in accordance with the EU’s financial rules’.
13. THE ROTTEN EUROPEAN ECONOMY
By the end of last year, the UK economy was 6.8 per cent larger than it was at the start of 2008, whereas the EU economy was only 1.9 per cent bigger (France’s grew by 2.9 per cent and Italy’s is 8.8 per cent smaller than in 2008)).
Also, unemployment in the UK is five per cent — less than half the 10.2 per cent jobless rate in the eurozone. (In Greece, it is 24 per cent — with youth unemployment at a desperate 51 per cent — and 20 per cent in Spain).
14. BUSINESS TIED UP IN RED TAPE
Treasury research has shown that the EU’s ‘single market’ rules could impose costs of seven per cent of GDP on the UK economy. At £125 billion a year, that’s the equivalent of £4,639 per household. Only 6 per cent of British companies export to the EU — but all must comply with EU ‘single market’ legislation.
Small businesses — the lifeblood of our economy — suffer most, whereas big firms can lobby Brussels.
15. PROTECTING PUBLIC SERVICES
Freedom of movement rules mean we have no idea many foreigners settle here — which means it’s impossible to plan the necessary health, education, transport and housing requirements for them. This has led to intense pressures for anyone trying to get a school place for their child or a GP appointment.
Rents are rising and first-time buyers struggle to get on the housing ladder as prices soar and supply diminishes.
With five more nations — Turkey, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania and Macedonia — hoping to join the EU, this will only get worse.
16. CONTROLLING ASYLUM SEEKERS
According to its own statistics, 1.3 million people claimed asylum in the EU last year. Some 363,000 came from Syria. Applicants who get EU citizenship are free to move to the UK.
17. THE FARMING BUDGET SCANDAL
Despite contributing 12.5 per cent of the overall EU budget, the UK sees just 7 per cent of the Common Agricultural Policy budget spent here. By contrast, France gets 16.4 per cent, Spain 11.6 per cent, Germany 11.3 per cent, Italy 10.1 per cent and Poland 8.8 per cent.
The EU’s farm subsidy system meant that prior to 2003, the so-called Single Farm Payment was linked to how much farmers produced — leading to massive over-production and waste.
Now, farmers don’t have to produce a set amount — they are paid automatically for keeping land in ‘agricultural condition’. As a result, it’s been reported wealthy landowners absurdly get Brussels payments for having pony paddocks.
18. THE BARMIEST GREEN LAWS
Following the EU’s ban on incandescent light-bulbs, many people suffered epilepsy from the flickering, supposedly eco-friendly fluorescent bulbs. Equally controversially, vacuum cleaners sold in the EU have been limited to an output of 1,600 watts. This directive is expected to be extended to kettles, toasters, hair-dryers and other domestic appliances.
19. THE TRUTH ABOUT VAT RATES
Under EU rules, once a product is liable for VAT, any EU member government is not allowed to abolish that tax without Brussels’ approval. Thus, the lowest VAT Westminster can impose is 5 per cent — which imposes hardship on some British families with VAT charged at 5 per cent on energy bills. (Our Government even had to seek permission to scrap the levy charged on tampons.) Brussels pockets around 0.3 per cent of VAT paid.
20. LOSING CONTROL OF OUR SEAS
EU membership has devastated our fishing industry — halving the number of fisherman to fewer than 12,000 since 1975. Under international law, each nation enjoys an ‘Exclusive Economic Zone’ extending 200 miles from its coast. However, the Common Fisheries Policy pools the zones of member states into a single zone.
The first 12 miles is restricted to a nation’s own fishermen, but the area from 12 miles to 200 miles is open to the fleets of any EU member state.
Spanish vessels last year got a quota of 15,546 tonnes of hake for a large area of the Atlantic off Scotland while UK vessels were allowed just 7,131 tonnes. Leaving the EU would allow us to fish our own waters — and breathe new life into harbour towns.
These are the words of Jean-Claude Juncker, basically saying that his is not concerned with Europeans, he is more concerned about the migrants pouring in from Asia and Africa, which is part of the bigger plan of course.
They don’t like those coming from far away, I like those coming from far away… we have to act in solidarity with those who are in a worse situation than we are in. Jean-Claude Juncker
As we have seen from the behaviour of EU officials as well as Pro-EU campaigners, they cannot construct a logical argument and in true cultural Marxist fashion they resort to abuse, insults, name calling and labels. Racist, Fascist, Xenophobe and many more. Leavers have been making an argument to leave, why they want to leave and what they would want, the remainers on the other hand, have revealed their contempt for Democracy, for the Nanny-state, for thought control which has always been the same. There has never been a period in history when so many people are using their democratic right, to vote for an end to Democracy!
WE MUST LEAVE ASAP
Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party set to storm EU elections with shock win
Latest reports indicate that the new Brexit Party, led by Nigel Farage, is on course to cause a political earthquake at next month’s EU Parliament elections, with a new survey showing his anti-EU group ahead of both Labour and the Tories. YouGov, one of Britain’s main polling companies, has Farage’s Brexit Party at 27 percent, five points ahead of Labour and well ahead of PM Theresa May’s Conservatives at 15 percent, with just a few weeks to go until elections on May 23.
The newly-formed party has surged 12 percent in less than a week, with Farage’s former party, UKIP, suffering the most from the pro-Brexit group’s incarnation, plunging seven percent over the same period.
The pro-EU, second referendum advocates, Change UK – The Independent Group, headed by former Tory Heidi Allen, are trailing in the Brexit Party’s wake, polling at a lowly six percent.
Topping the EU election polls is familiar territory for Farage, having led UKIP to victory in 2014, securing 26.6 percent of the vote. His former party nosedived in the YouGov survey under the leadership of Gerard Batten. Farage launched his new party on Friday, claiming they would mirror UKIP on policies, but when it came to their members and candidates up for election, there would be no far-right faction, which has dogged his former party.
One of those candidates standing for election will be Annunziata Rees-Mogg, the sister of Tory Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg. She has twice stood to be a Conservative MP, but has now left after 35 years to join Farage’s army of Brexiteers.
COMMENT
There was a referendum, there was a result and the democratic process was seen to have been done, only it was not. The political classes had NO INTENTION of allowing the will of the people to be fulfilled. After all, the British public were lied to back in 1975, something that was later admitted. NOBODY voted for a superstate, NOBODY voted for our country to be dictated to by Brussels.
In the meantime, the public have been played by politicians, who have terrified them that we will be in some sort of economical wilderness if we leave without a deal. We do not need a deal, we are the UK, WE ARE the deal!
Brexit day, but no Brexit
Brexit – May Crushed
May’s Brexit deal is CRUSHED: PM suffers biggest government defeat EVER by 230 votes as Tory rebels join forces with Labour in Commons showdown – and now she faces no-confidence battle
- Theresa May suffered massive House of Commons defeat on her Brexit deal in the long-awaited vote tonight
- Defeat by 230 votes was comfortably the biggest for a government in history, outstripping Labour in 1924
- DUP and Tory Eurosceptics joined Labour, the SNP, the Liberal Democrats and other parties against package
- Mrs May made a statement immediately after the vote tonight saying she would ‘listen’ but will not quit
- Jeremy Corbyn has immediately called a vote of no confidence in the government in a bid to force an election
Mr Corbyn said the confidence vote would allow the Commons to “give its verdict on the sheer incompetence of this government”. A Democratic Unionist Party source has told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg they will back Mrs May in a confidence vote. In normal times, such a crushing defeat on a key piece of government legislation would be expected to be followed by a prime ministerial resignation. But Mrs May signalled her intention to carry on in a statement immediately after the vote.
“The House has spoken and this government will listen,” she told MPs.
She offered cross-party talks to determine a way forward on Brexit. President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, said he regretted the outcome of the vote and that he urged the UK government to “clarify its intentions with respect to its next steps as soon as possible”
If MPs vote to back a no confidence motion, the government, or anyone else who can command a majority, would get 14 days to win a further confidence vote. If they can’t win that, a general election will be then held. Some 118 Conservative MPs voted with the opposition parties against Mrs May’s deal
In my opinion, it was a mistake to appoint a ‘Remainer’ to be the ambassador for Brexit, why did she call an election when she didn’t need to, giving away her majority, this has done little more than to give the UK nearly three years of uncertainty, with our pound slipping constantly and people not knowing where they stand.
Had she incorporated all EU law in to British law immediately, rather than announcing that policy months later, then making emergency provisions for a hard Brexit, the dust would have settled long ago. Instead, we have been subjected to months and months of scaremongering, uncertainty and division.
We are not out of the woods yet!
Scared of Brexit? Don’t be!
Are you falling for the the bullshit that we are being spun by the political classes? We were lied to when our nation was dragged in the ‘Common Market’ and over 3 or 4 decades our country has been become wrapped up in so much red tape and political dishonesty it does not bare thinking about.
We have a youth who have been convinced that we will be isolated in some sort of poverty trap when we leave (if they let us) but in fact, we are in a different world to the one that gave up when we sold our soul to the EU. There is now a world trade agreement, we do not actually need trade agreements with Europe, they are already in place, but they are being used to scaremonger innocent people. We are worth more to the EU than they are to us….let us not forget that!
After a year of political high drama and turbulence, and given the seeming parliamentary impasse over the Prime Minister’s deal, there are massive anxieties about the consequences of leaving the EU without a withdrawal agreement in place. Will it plunge us into an economic depression as some doom-mongers predict? Will prices rocket and essential goods be in short supply? Will there be riots on the streets as the ugly new social divisions opened up by Brexit play out?
I don’t doubt for one moment these concerns are wholly understandable and we are right to focus on them. But we should also count our blessings. We are not the only country experiencing turmoil — and for many of our neighbours it is far worse. Around Europe, many leaders are spending Christmas contemplating chaos and confusion politically, and widespread public dissatisfaction, growing unrest and even violence. For some, economic winter is already descending.
The level of corruption that has engulfed the EU is beyond imagination, but what are we to expect from an administration that does not have accountability? What are we to expect from a club that makes decisions in private, one that punishes it’s members by making them forfeit their pension if they criticise the EU? This ‘club’ is rotten to the core.
We have seen this club create debt throughout Europe and then force the citizens who were INNOCENT to pay the price. The UK will have absolutely no commercial losses by leaving, despite the scaremongering, but we may just be saving ourselves from the downward vortex that is engulfing the EU, one that will not end well.
There is only one thing we should fear more than leaving, that is remaining.